British News Agency

The government has announced plans to replace the compulsory preschool year for six-year-olds, a "pre-school" class, with an additional year in primary school.

The centre-right coalition government, led by moderates and backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats, unveiled the plan ahead of Thursday's presentation of its 2025 budget. The plan dates back to the previous government and is supported by the left-leaning Social Democrats.

Education Minister Johan Pehrson said, "Schooling needs to go back to basics", and added that there would be a greater focus on early literacy and numeracy. “This should lead to students having a better chance of developing basic skills such as reading, writing and counting, and achieving their goals at school,” Pehrson said.

Critics say the plan goes against research showing that play-based learning environments best support children’s development, encouraging them to explore, create, and develop through play, curiosity, and guided discovery. Union leaders fear the move will put many specialist preschool teachers out of work.

Christian Eidevald, visiting professor of early childhood education at Södertörn University, said: “By pushing six-year-olds into a more formal school environment, we risk losing the fundamental play-based methods that have been proven to support children’s development. This is not just a pedagogical choice: research confirms that play is fundamental to early learning and developing critical skills such as language and problem-solving.”

Eidevald and a group of academics working in the field of children and pedagogy, including Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson, a professor of pedagogy at the University of Gothenburg, wrote an article questioning the government’s motives.

“Including six-year-olds in primary school without taking into account their special developmental needs and without taking advantage of the unique competencies of preschool teachers is a step in the wrong direction and will not lead to greater equality,” they wrote. “Instead of implementing structural changes, resources should be invested in improving the quality of education with competent teachers.”

Åsa Westlund, the Social Democrats’ education spokeswoman, said her party’s support for the plan depended on preserving the mix of learning and play in the plan, which she said should act as “a bridge between preschool and school.”